TSLA Pilot
Active Member
I wouldn't bother because I know what you're talking about. Before the S I had a 535d, M5, 535i and a 550i. I love my BMWs. You're expecting the primary beam of light to move as it did on the BMWs. For those not familiar, the BMW projector was able to move left to right in conjunction with the steering wheel. So when you were on a sweeping turn the lights would be pointing around the turn versus straight ahead of you. The LED lights on the Model S are not like this at all.
On the S the adaptive lights are 3 bowls of LEDs in each headlight module that come on with steering wheel position but at best could be considered low speed cornering lights. They do not bend around a curve like the BMWs. Honestly, calling these lights adaptive in the sense that people are accustomed to is a bit disingenuous because anyone coming from a car with true adaptive lights is going to be really disappointed in the Tesla's adaptive LEDs.
So you might be thinking "well hey! At least the LEDs are brighter than the HIDs!". They are a higher color temperature so they appear to be brighter but in practice they are as bad an LED headlight as I've seen. In fact, they're probably the worst. Much like Tesla used a really sub-par HID projector, it appears they mailed it in with the LED lights as well. The beam is very concentrated and full of hot spots. The LED lights in my 535d bathed the road in a white blanket of light. They were amazing. The LED lights on the facelift S have a comically bad beam pattern. A clean cut-off for sure, but below that it's a mess. Fortunately, or unfortunately for Tesla, the HIDs are also terrible so the LEDs do represent a minor upgrade in functionality but the majority of what you're getting is aesthetics. The luminescent DRLs and the overall look of the lights are why you're upgrading.
Disappointing because it appears the X is better in this respect.
Here's what I'd LOVE from a company that can make a car that drives itself. My BMW had LEDs that would split their beam or turn part of it off so that it could be on high beam 70 - 80% of the time. So if I'm on the expressway I have my high beams on and when a car appears in front of me they don't shut off. They simply split. So the left light aims left and the right aims right and they made a tunnel of darkness that would follow the car in front of me. If that car entered a sweeping turn my headlights would move so that tunnel of darkness stayed with it. Once I got close enough to that car where it couldn't make that tunnel any more it would shut off the high beams but keep the right high beam on and pointed up to illuminate road signs. On a two lane highway with approaching traffic it would split the beam around the approaching car until it got close enough that only the left high beam shut off for a brief moment until the car passed and then popped right back on. This feature alone regularly tempts me to look into another 535. You have to have the car coded to do this in the US since DOT hasn't approved it but the tech is on all LED equipped 5 series with the drivers assistance plus package. Here's a video that shows what I'm talking about.
This video does a good job of showing what we should aspire to.
Excellent video, and concur that Tesla really seems to have "phoned it in" with some things, and this is one of them. I think it's a question of priorities and this one doesn't get close to the top because of geography. In Germany, they have long, dark winters, hence the great headlights on many BMW's (but the so-so AC). On the other hand, it must never get dark in CA, hence the crappy interior lighting and lousy headlights on a Tesla. (I guess Elon spends very little time in a really hot climate too, hence the atrocious NVH when the AC is working hard . . . .)
Thanks for the great info on this, and here's another plus for real adaptive headlights--LESS ACCIDENTS and lower insurance claims!
Source:
Adaptive headlights improve visibility
Earlier research by HLDI showed that vehicles equipped with optional adaptive headlights had lower rates of insurance claims under most coverage types than the same vehicles without the technology (see Status Report special issue: crash avoidance, July 3, 2012). The benefits were greater under property damage liability insurance, which covers damage to someone else's vehicle or other property, than they were for collision insurance, which covers damage to the insured vehicle. Injury claim rates also were lower.
"We already had evidence that adaptive headlights are reducing crash damage and injuries," says David Zuby, IIHS executive vice president and chief research officer. "This study fills in some of the gaps in our knowledge about how they help."
Come on Elon, this is old news. We all know your plate is pretty full, but step it up here as good headlights matter! If you were going to spend the money for a re-design anyway, why not hit it out of the park with a really big improvement?